Junior Seminar 2013/5774

On November 8-10, the Juniors experienced the annual Yeshivah of Flatbush Junior Seminar. It was preceded by a moving and inspirational Chesed Day, when we were split up into different groups to go to a different place to perform acts of Chesed. The places included Ohel, Imagine Children's Center, and SBH. This, along with a motivational speech by "Mitzvah Man," got us all in the mode of Chesed, the theme of our seminar. On Seminar we were joined by some members from the Special Children's Center as well as families from the Yeshivah of Flatbush Adult Chesed Mission for the whole weekend, which had surely enhanced our experience.

Seminar started off with a short program about technology and how it affects us and our relationships today. Friday night circle time included tons of singing and interesting divrei-Torah. We also had a moving session about relationships with other people and with G-d. The theme of the late-night "tish" was inspirational stories. After many stories, candy, and of course cholent, tears were shed from our emotionally-moved students. Shabbat day was filled with food, prayer, singing, and a session of our choice dealing with 'soul traits'. Shabbat ended with a very meaningful Havdallah service and rikkudim. After Shabbat was over, we played a very exciting game called "Junior Jackpot," which included trivia questions about Avenue J, Flatbush, and even required us to taste jelly beans and identify their flavors! Each lucky player on the winning team received a gift card to Oh Nuts. The night then continued with more dancing and a surprise visit by a recently married couple of Flatbush graduates! We ended the night with a meaningful presentation and a powerful kumzitz. Seminar ended on Sunday with even more dancing, singing and finally a slideshow recapping the previous couple of days. Our seminar, as all Flatbush seminars do, inspired us to do more Chesed, think strongly about our future, and how to become a better person overall. We can't wait for next year's seminar...Senior Seminar 2014!
~Naomi Shapiro and Junie Maleh